Maybe Tomorrow
by Isabella Auditore
Summary: Okay, that title fails... I'm sorry! Anyways, this is a story set in the Marauders' time. Usually, everyone's friends with them, but in this it's a little different. A little OC love, won't say with who. ;  Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Sorry I've taken ages with my GONE story, 'When Everything Changes', but I've kinda lost interest in it. So, I decided to write a Harry Potter fanfic! :D  
>Not very good at descriptions, so just enjoy, I guess... Also, chapter names are kind of dull, so sorry about that! And Chapters are quite short... ^^'<br>Oh! And please, any grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes or general constructive critique is welcomed! WordPad doesn't have a spell-checker, or grammar-checker! (Though, I'm a bit of a Grammar Nazi.. XD)**

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><p><span>Chapter 1- The Acceptance Letter<span>

A letter landed on the faded mat just underneath the post-box. It was old-looking, the address written with a strange green ink.

_Kara Murphy,  
>The Bedroom down the Hall,<br>27 Rockfield Green,  
>Co. Kildare,<br>Ireland_

On the back was a wax seal decorated with the letter 'H', a snake, badger, raven and lion. The letter happened to land right by an eleven year old girl's toes. Her chestnut ringlets brushed her cheeks as she bent to pick up the important-looking letter.  
>"Mum, Dad?" Kara Murphy called down the hallway towards the ajar kitchen door. Her voice was tinged with confusion as she stared down at the green ink while walking towards the door. Kara pushed it open gently, and sat down beside her father, still staring at the letter.<br>"What's wrong, Kara?" He asked kindly, glancing down at his daughter.  
>"Wait, Matt... do you see the crest on the back?" Mrs. Murphy watched the letter carefully, as though if she looked away, it would vanish.<br>That got Mr. Murphy's attention.  
>"It... it isn't, is it?" He murmured, gazing at the letter with a kind of cautious hope. He set his cup of coffee down gently on the wooden table.<br>"Isn't what?" Kara asked, confused. Her parents were acting weird!

"Oh, honey... it's your Hogwarts acceptance letter!" Her mother beamed.  
>Before Kara could react, her father grinned broadly.<br>"Go on, open it already!"  
>Kara slid her finger under the seal and broke it, unfolding the letter. She gazed at it for a few seconds, before freezing.<br>"I've... I'm accepted... I..." Kara trailed off into stunned silence. She never thought this day would come.  
>The two adults then promised they would get a plane to England so she could buy her books, robes and wand in Diagon Alley later in the week.<br>_I can't wait! _Kara thought excitedly, packing a small weekend bag for their trip to Britain.

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><p>"Awwww!" Kara cried as the small family passed by one shop filled with animals. "Can't we go in there? Just to look?" In reality, she was thinking of one line from the Hogwarts letter. <em>Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.<br>_Kara was hoping for a cat, though she doubted a cat would like her very much, given her... condition, so maybe an owl would be better.  
>If her parents ever got her a pet, that is.<br>"Maybe after we get your wand, okay?" Mr. Murphy smiled fondly at his daughter. He looked a little out of place in Diagon Alley, while Mrs. Murphy was in her element, suggesting different wand types, and which she thought would suit Kara best.

They finally arrived at Ollivander's Wand Shop. The display in the window looked quite boring, with only a single wand on a faded purple cushion. Inside, it was almost like a library, except instead of books, there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of wand-boxes.

After the normal introductory speech from Mr. Ollivander, Kara began to try out some wands. The first was oak, eleven and a quarter inches, with a dragon heartstring core. The wand made a horrible, rude noise, much like the one a whoopee cushion would make.  
>The second was a beech, 10 and a half inches, with a phoenix feather core. Kara set Mr. Ollivander's robes on fire.<br>The third was ash, 8 inches, with another phoenix feather core. She only managed a couple of bright red sparks, though to Mr. Ollivander, it was an improvement.  
>The fourth was willow, 8 inches and a unicorn tail hair as the core. Green sparks this time.<br>"Getting warmer." He had said excitedly.  
>The fifth was willow, 8 and a half inches with a phoenix feather. Beautiful purple and pink sparks shot out of the end.<br>"This one." Kara and Mr. Ollivander said simultaniously.

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><p>After purchasing her wand, robes, cauldron, potion ingredients, and stopping for an ice-cream, Kara and her parents decided to enter Flourish and Blotts to buy her books. She was scanning the titles of the books in the 'Defence Against The Dark Arts' section, running her finger along the spines of the books, when someone walked right into her.<br>"Oh, sorry, sorry!" A boy who looked both handsome and tired stammered apologetically. He picked up some books he'd obviously dropped and got to his feet.  
>"No problem." Kara grinned cautiously. Although he seemed nice, you never could really tell by appearances. But then she got a closer look at his face.<br>No, he was not handsome. Cute, maybe, but Kara was too young to know the difference. His looks were also jarred by the three long, pink scars which trailed diagonally from the left side of his forehead to the bottom right of his jaw. The bags under his eyes described a boy who almost never slept.  
>"I'm Remus, Remus Lupin." The boy shifted his grip on the books in his arm to free his right hand. He then reached out as if to shake hands.<br>Surprised by the formality, Kara nonetheless took his hand and shook it.  
>"Kara Murphy." She said to the boy, who was already turning to go.<br>"Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts, then!" He smiled at her as he walked off.  
>"Oh..." She suddenly felt a little abandoned.<br>"Come on, Kara, we have to go now, if you want to look at the animals!" Her mother called to her from across the shop where she was purchasing Kara's schoolbooks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! Chapter 2 so soon! Format's a little different, but apart from that, it's the same! :3 Don't worry, I'll be keeping this one going because it kind of... sort of... not really... actually, very much so... relates to me. :D**

**Thanks to Annaisadinosaur for your review(how's this for updating soon? :P) and thanks for the story alert! :3**

**And thanks, Storm Riddle!  
>Wow, reviews so soon after publishing chapter 1! I better start typing!<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 2- The Train<span>

Kara's mother rested her hand on her daughter's shoulder and squeezed it gently as the eleven-year-old pushed the rather heavy and bulky trolley, carrying her trunk and a voilently rattling wicker picnic basket trimmed with red and white checkered fabric. The tiny, chocolate brown, fluffy kitten inside the basket mewled with fright every time one of the wheels hit a bump in the ground.  
>"Aww, it's okay, Cookie!" Kara cooed to the basket. Cookie clearly didn't share her belief, and continued her terrified meowing until Kara started humming a muggle song her dad taught her.<br>Mr. Murphy had decided to opt out of dropping Kara off at King's Cross, mainly because he was a big softie and the thought that he wouldn't see his daughter until Christmas made his bottom lip shake. Secondly, although he didn't mind Diagon Alley, he was out of his comfort zone in a train station full of underage witches and wizards. Though he did have the decency to buy his wife and daughter tickets to England so they didn't have to organise other transport.

"Almost there." Mrs. Murphy said kindly to her daughter as they neared the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Although she had already explained to Kara about platform nine and three quarters, and how to enter, but the little girl still shook under her mother's hand.  
>That barrier looked awfully solid.<br>"We'll take it at a run, okay, sweetie?" Kara barely heard her mother begin the countdown over the sound of her heart beating.  
>"Three." This wasn't going to work, they'd crash into the wall!<br>"Two." No, no no no. No. This was a stupid idea!  
>"One." They began to walk, quickly picking up speed. People flashed by and the wall drew ever nearer. Kara began to really panic. This was it. They'd hit the wall and her trunk would explode onto the ground, spilling out its contents and revealing the wizarding community and getting her expelled from Hogwarts before term even started in her first year!<p>

The front of the trolley met the brick...  
>...and continued on through the wall! The mother and daughter were consumed by darkness for a split second, until suddenly, they were met with the sound of a large crowd of people milling about on the platform. Kara gazed in awe at the large red steam-train puffing steam into the air. It whistled, and that seemed to break her out of her daze.<br>"Come on, before all the seats are taken! Onto the train!" Mrs. Murphy helped Kara into an empty compartment before clutching her daughter's head in her hands and planting a kiss on the top of her head.  
>"Be good, and be sure to write us, dear." She took a step back onto the platform and grasped at her chest, as though making sure her heart stayed in position.<br>"Bye, mum!" Kara cried out through her compartment window and waved cheerfully as the train whistled again and started to move slowly away from platform nine and three quarters. She was surprised by how little she was dreading living in a castle far away from Ireland, but she supposed the homesickness would come later.  
>The train pulled out of the station, and Kara settled herself by the window.<p>

After about twenty minutes on the train, a boy about the same age as Kara poked his head around her compartment door. He had long, messy black hair and piercing grey eyes, and in Kara's opinion, he was the most handsome boy she'd ever met.  
>He glanced around the compartment, before looking straight at Kara.<br>"Hey, you seen James Potter? Tall-ish, glasses, black hair, probably up to no good?" He asked her. When she shook her head, the boy came into full view and sighed in annoyance, before plopping himself in the seat opposite Kara.  
>" I can't find them anywhere! James said he was just gonna terrorize some prefects, and Remus said he'd go change, but they still have't come back." He grumbled. "I'm Sirius, by the way."<br>Kara looked puzzled. Why would he _not _be serious?  
>"I.. um... I didn't think you were joking." She said cautiously, as she so often did when talking to new people. Kara was a very shy girl, and it didn't help her case that she hadn't exactly been... respected in her old school.<br>The boy stared at Kara for a few seconds, then let out a bark of a laugh.  
>"No, no, no. My <em>name's <em>Sirius. You know, after the constellation?"  
>"Ohh, right! I get it now." Kara laughed at her own stupidity. "I'm Kara. Kara Murphy."<br>The boy, Sirius, grinned. "I'd tell you my last name..." He trailed off, and suddenly all the warmth drained out of his handsome face. "But you'd hate me then. Think I was like the rest of my stinking _Pureblood_ family." He spat out the second-last word.  
>Kara stopped smiling and gased into the boy's eyes, which were glittering with a cold rage. Her mind whirred, and suddenly her thoughts clicked into place.<br>Named after a constellation.  
>Hates his Pureblood family.<br>"You're Sirius Black, aren't you?"

Silence followed Kara's statement-question. She knew it to be true. Her parents had told her all about the Purebloods, the ones to avoid if you wanted to make it through school alive. They had also told her that the Black's oldest son, Sirius, was rumored to loathe his Purebloodedness. Of course, if it was true, he wasn't exactly keeping it hidden, telling it to complete strangers, and all.

"Yes." Sirius replied reluctantly after about a minute. "You hate me?" He turned his angry, cold gaze on Kara now.  
>"No." She said simply, straightening up and folding her arms across her chest defiantly. "I don't judge people by their background, only by their actions." Sirius seemed to let out a breath she didn't realise he was holding.<br>"How about you? I don't recognise your last name, so you're not a Pureblood. Lucky."  
>"Oh, I'm a Half-blood. My mum's a witch, but my dad's a muggle." Sirius let out a little bark of laughter.<br>"If only mother-dearest could see me now... I think she'd be everso happy to see me chatting to a Half-blood." His voice practically dripped sarcasm, and soon, they were both rolling around their seats with laughter imagining what Mrs. Black would do. Then, Kara started telling Sirius about some of her favorite muggle jokes.  
>"Doctor, doctor, everyone says I'm a liar!" Kara was bursting with giggles at this stage. "And the doctor says, 'I don't believe you!'" The two roared with laughter as the compartment door slid open to reveal the boy Sirius described earlier as James Potter.<br>"There you are, Sirius, mate!" He cried as soon as he saw Sirius. "I found him!" James called down the hallway.  
>A tired-looking boy appeared beside James, and Kara recognised him as Remus Lupin.<br>"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Remus panted, glaring at Sirius. He nodded in greeting at Kara, before turning his attention back to the two boys.  
>"Hey, I searched the whole train for you!" Sirius shot back at the two boys.<br>"Obviously, you weren't trying very hard, mate." James noticed Kara for the first time, who sat frozen to her spot. He motioned towards her significantly with his head when he spoke.  
>"Shut up!" Sirius cried playfully, getting up to shove James. The two boys had a sort of fake-scuffle in the doorway, before James said, "We haven't finished with the prefects yet, and wait until you meet Snivellus!" He grinned, and Sirius' eyes flashed mischieviously.<br>"Well come on, let's go!" James yelled, and dashed out of the compartment without giving Kara a second look. Remus sighed, rolled his eyes at Kara as if to say, 'sorry, they're always like this', seemed to gain ten years in his face, then raced off after James.  
>"Bye, Kara, see you around school!" Sirius called, flashing her a final, handsome smile, before running off after his friends.<br>"Oh..." Kara slumped a little in her seat. She felt abandoned, AGAIN, and suddenly, she realised she didn't have any friends at Hogwarts.  
>Loneliness spread over her like a wave. It was like her old school all over again.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Heyy... Chapters are flying up compared to my other story :P Also, check out Aine Hathaway's stories, Auditore Fealmharfori (Spelling fail?) and Disturbers of the Peace! AC and LotR respectively.  
>Okay, I apologise for how short these are, but it means I'll get them up quicker!<br>And thanks, peaceoutrunner23, for the fave! :3**

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><p><span>Chapter 3- "Firs' Years This Way!"<span>

The train rattled on, and Kara decided to get changed into her Hogwarts robes. The rest of the journey was uneventful, though she did buy herself a chocolate frog, and got her first Dumbledoor! He waved politely up at her, then wandered out of the picture.  
>Kara still loved wizarding pictures, since she hadn't seen that many. She and her family lived on a muggle street, and sometimes Mr. Murphy's muggle friends would come around to watch football. Because of this, it was too risky to hang moving pictures around the house, so there were only a couple in a secret photo album in a drawer somewhere.<br>Also, because of Kara's mostly muggle up-bringing, she'd never seen a game of Quiddich, though loved the idea. She knew the rules well enough, but she'd never even think to try to ride a broom. Kara was a little afraid of heights.

As soon as Kara got off the Hogwarts express, she was greeted by a giant of a man, with crazy-looking hair and beard. He bellowed over the crowd of students, "Firs' years this way, firs' years this way!"  
>Kara hurried over to the gathering of children who were so obviously first years it was funny. And Kara thought <em>she <em>was timid! Half of them were literally quaking in their shoes, the other half putting on brave faces, even though you could tell they were nervous. Though, there was the exception of the three boys Kara'd met earlier. James, Sirius and Remus were joking around, thinking out loud of what horrible things they would have to do to be sorted into the different houses.  
>Though Remus was quieter than the other two -who were now roaring with laughter- he did not attempt to contain them, either.<br>Kara noticed for the first time the massive lake stretching out in front of her. It glittered faintly in the moonlight, the reflection of the half-moon rippled with gentle waves. As the other students trickled away from the edge of the lake, the first years remained there with the huge man. He introduced himself as Hagrid, then instructed them to enter a boat. Kara looked on helplessly, unsure of where she should be, as the others found their friends and stuck together. She made a move towards one boat, changed her mind, then went for another, changed her mind again, and just stood there on the bank, feeling utterly lost.  
>"Hey, over here!" An unfamiliar voice floated over to Kara, from a boat containing a sour-looking boy with a hooked nose and very greasy black hair, and a redheaded girl, who, in contrast to the boy, was positively beaming at Kara. The girl waved her over, and Kara, glad to have someone to go into a boat with, got in gratefully.<br>"I'm Lily Evans, and this is my friend Severus Snape." The girl said cheerfully as the boats started moving away from the shore. The boy just glared at Kara through two curtains of greasy hair.  
>"I'm Kara Murphy." Kara settled herself more comfortably in her seat as a distraction from Severus' death-glare. It was unnerving. Not even the other girls at her old school had looked at her like that. It also made no sense. She had done nothing to this boy! She didn't deserve this kind of hatred from someone she'd never even met, let alone spoken to!<br>After a few minutes of silence, Kara snapped. For the first time in quite a long time.  
>"Look, what's your problem? What did I do?" She mustered her most fierce glare and stared at the hook-nosed boy.<br>He just snorted, curled his lip, and turned away to stare at the approaching land.  
>"You'll have to excuse Severus." Lily sighed wearily, gazing at the back of Snape's head. "He can be a little..." She paused, then started again. "You'll like him once you get to know him."<br>Kara highly doubted that.

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><p><em>Wow...<em> Kara thought as she stared at the huge castle before them. A strict-looking woman appeared and led them towards the castle, casting stern looks back to Sirius, James and Remus, who were now jeering at Snape, calling him 'Snivellus' and making rude comments about his unclean hair. Kara, who usually disapproved of such treatment, found herself laughing every now and again at some of their jokes, much to Lily's displeasure.

"I'm Professor Mc Gonagall, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please form a line, and wait for my return. Thank you." The middle-aged witch hurried off down a corridor, leaving the awed first years to gaze around the entrance hall at the grand staircase, the huge front door and the four hour glasses filled with pebbles with the different house names painted above an hour glass. Eventually, the students formed a somewhat orderly line near two huge doors, where there was an awful lot of noise eminating from the next room.  
>Suddenly, ghosts appeared from the walls, floating around, passing by the first years. Some waved enthusiastically, others didn't even notice them. One, a rather michevious-looking short man, grinned at the first years, then started dropping water balloons on them.<br>Sirius exploded with laughter a few feet behind Kara, and she turned to see James soaking wet and looking furious. Another water balloon fell from the sky and burst open on Sirius' head. That shut him up, but caused James to start roaring with laughter.  
>"Peeves, that's ENOUGH." Came Professor Mc Gonagall's stern voice. She had returned, holding a small stool and a rather old, worn hat. It was patched and frayed, and it appeared to have a large rip near the brim. The poltergeist cackled, then zoomed up the grand staircase.<br>Professor Mc Gonagall performed a quick drying spell, then ushered the spooked first years into the Great Hall. It was massive. Four long tables filled with students, and a slightly smaller table at the top of the room holding the teachers.  
>Suddenly, Kara noticed the ceiling. Or rather, the lack of one.<br>She was so preocupied by the pure beauty of the night sky, she didn't even notice when Professor Mc Gonagall placed the hat on the stool and it started to sing.  
>The hat.<br>Started to sing.  
>"What?" Kara gasped under her breath, listening intently about the different houses and their founders. She liked the sound of Ravenclaw, though doubted she'd be smart enough for it.<br>All too quickly, the different students were placed into their different houses. She only paid attention to those she recognised. Black, Sirius became a Gryffindor, much to his happiness. Evans, Lily was also sorted into Gryffindor. Lupin, Remus went to sit beside Sirius, who high-fived him.  
>"Murphy, Kara." Professor Mc Gonagall called out her name from the list.<br>Heart pounding, Kara walked up to the stool and sat down, putting the hat on. Immediately, it slid over her eyes and she was thrown into darkness.

_Hmm... you have a great mind. _Said a little voice in Kara's ear. She froze, waiting for more. _Ravenclaw would suit you well. But... what's this? A streak of bravery? I see... So, where to put you? Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?  
><em>Kara had not even considered Gryffindor as one of her options, believing she was way too shy for such a brave group. But if the sorting hat thought she was worthy..?  
><em>Um... Gryffindor?<em> Kara thought.  
><em>I see. I also see the reason why, even if you don't know it yet. So, you'll be in:<br>_"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat cried.  
>The Gryffindor table cheered loudly, and Kara quietly slunk to the seat beside Lily, who was opposite Remus.<br>_I wonder what the Sorting Hat meant. _Kara wondered as James came to sit beside Sirius. Lily huffed at being so close to the two who constantly teased her best friend, but Kara refused to move. Snape was sorted into Slytherin, and Sirius elbowed James in the arm, then the two started sniggering at something only known to them.

After eating more than they could manage, the students of Hogwarts made their ways to their separate common rooms. Lily chatted animatedly to Kara about how she was muggle born, the way her sister had reacted to not being magical, and of course, her friendship with Snape. She then went off on a rant about James and Sirius, though she mentioned Remus once or twice. Never as harshly.  
>Kara was almost desperate to share her little... secret with Lily, but thought it wouldn't be best until she knew her better. After all, the only person who knew was Kara's father, and he only by accident. Possibly the neighbourhood animals, too.<br>As far as Kara knew, she was the only one of her kind. Some would say she shouldn't even be possible.  
>Because she shouldn't.<p>

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><p><strong>Okay, before I get to the actual secret, I just want to say that YES, Kara is the only one of her kind. I know, cliche, but I thought it'd be fun. ;D<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**NonrealityRocks- Thanks for the review and fave :3  
>Oh, and just to let everyone know, if you're reading this, I read every review and mention everyone who favesreviews/alerts this. (Unless I suddenly become swarmed with things... in which case, I will read every review, and just name people. :D )  
>Okay, on with the show. Don't worry, it gets more interesting! Also, Aine Hathaway, DON'T spoil the plot. ;D<br>...Ever wondered how the Marauders got their map?**

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><p><span>Chapter 4- Needles, Potions and Maps, Oh My!<span>

"Oh no..." Lily groaned as she scanned the timetable in her hands at breakfast the next day.  
>"What's wrong? I thought we had an okay week..." Kara's voice was muffled through a bite of toast. She looked down at her timetable again. It was...<br>Okay, not perfect. First class was Potions with Professor Slughorn, followed by Transfiguration with Professor Mc Gonagall. Both with the Ravenclaws. Then, Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Edwards. He was aparantly new. That would be interesting. 'DADA', as James, Sirius and Remus** (Hereby known as 'the boys' until they become the Marauders) **called it, was with the Slytherins.  
>"I'm sure I'll be terrible at Potions, I was never good at cooking at home!" Lily wailed. "And just to rub it in my face, we'll be with those geniuses." She added, nodding toward the Ravenclaw table. "And Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts! More practical subjects!" Lily continued.<br>"Look at the bright side, we have History of Magic straight after those. Good ol' books to save the day!" Kara beamed.  
>Lily pouted, then took a rather vicious spoonful of cereal. Kara decided it was best not to continue. Though she'd only known Lily for about a day, she knew how to act around her.<br>_"You're an empath." _Her mother had said. _"It means you pretty much pick up on other people's emotions."_

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><p>"Hey, looks like we have Potions first thing." Sirius appeared suddenly by Kara's shoulder, and she jumped a little, not expecting him.<br>"Where'd you come from?" Lily grumbled as the boys sat opposite Lily and Kara.  
>"Aw, Evans, did your parents not have that chat with you yet?" James grinned at Lily, who scowelled back. He raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Hey, I was only messing!"<br>"And why're you at our throats?" Sirius asked, mock hurt in his voice.  
>"As if you don't know." Lily began stabbing at the remaining cereal in her bowl with her spoon.<br>"Really? I don't. Do _you _know, James?" Sirius put on a quite convincing look of confusion.  
>"No, I don't think I do." James caught on quickly.<br>"You lot keep picking on Severus!" Lily half-shouted in annoyance. Kara had to cover a sudden burst of giggles with a choking fit on her toast when James replied, "You mean Snivvely?"  
>Lily was now bursting with rage. She only managed to say, "Come on, Kara." before standing up abruptly and storming out of the Great Hall.<br>_Nice, guys, just perfect. _Kara thought as she cast a disapproving glance around at the boys and went to stand.  
>"Hey." James caught Kara's sleeve. She turned, glaring down at him. He stood up, a look of genuine apology on his face. "Tell Evans we're sorry. We were only messing around."<br>Remus, who had stayed quiet the whole time, rose to his feet, followed by Sirius. They _did _look sorry, though Remus always did. Kara sighed, then picked up her timetable.  
>"I'll tell her. Whether she believes you or not, is up to her. Okay?" Kara said. James just nodded and sat back down. Remus smiled a little sadly at Kara, which distorted the scars on his face, though she could've sworn he saw his eyes flicker towards the back of Lily's head as she left through the large doors. He sat down again, then Sirius, who seemed a little less sorry, huffed at his friends' glum mood and looked at Kara. He seemed about to say something, even opened his mouth to begin, but just closed it again, rubbed the back of his neck and sat down.<br>"Boys." Kara whispered, then took off after Lily.

"Excelent, Miss Evans, most excelent!" Professor Slughorn beamed at Lily, who stood over her cauldron gazing into the gently simmering contents. It was absolutely perfect, the right shade of aqua and everything. Kara, who was working alongside Lily, stared glumly into her cauldron. It was aqua, but more blue than green. According to Professor Slughorn, it was "quite good" but not as amazing as Lily's. So much for her being terrible at potions.  
>A tiny boy by the name of Peter, Kara didn't quite catch his last name, managed to badly singe his hair and even completely removed an eyebrow when a column of flame shot out of his cauldron. Remus was working a few feet away, and he had to keep muttering instructions to James and Sirius, who looked extremely puzzled.<br>"No, not that one!" Kara heard his fierce whisper as Sirius almost dropped a dandelion stem into his potion, which, Kara noted, would have caused a similar disaster as Peter's. She sniggered when she thought of how Sirius would react if his hair was burnt.

The scent of burnt hair followed the Gryffindors to Transfiguration, where Professor Mc Gonagall began explaining the basics of Transfiguration. She then provided everyone with a needle and informed them they had half an hour to figure out how to change it into a matchstick.  
>"This is the first time I've asked a class to change needles into matches, usually it's the other way around, but I thought I should use some variety in my different classes." She had said at the start of the class, looking a little aprehensive, as though it wasn't her idea at all, but a fellow teacher's.<br>What followed was utter chaos, resulting in many flammable, pointy objects. Only a select few managed to get a wooden needle, including Kara, Lily, Remus, Sirius and James. The last two kind of surprised everyone, but hey. Everyone has their strengths.  
>"I think it's safe to say Professor Mc Gonagall won't be doing that one again." Lily commented as the third student left for the hospital wing from a serious splinter-burn.<p>

Defence Against the Dark Arts was, to say the least, eventful.  
>Professor Edwards was slightly insane. His jet-black hair rivalled James' in its messyness, and he had strange amber eyes. He was also rather clumsy. Which resulted in an explosion. Kara was never quite sure how it happened. One second, he was talking in an etheusiastic voice about something quite boring, when suddenly, he knocked a jar of some strange deep purple goo on the ground, which combusted almost instantly.<br>Class was dismissed early for lunch.

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><p>The rest of the day flew by, though in History of Magic, Sirius actually fell asleep and started snoring. What Kara found really hilarious was that Professor Binns didn't even notice.<br>"Yay, not too much homework." Lily groaned as she and Kara plonked themselves down around a table in the Gryffindor common room. The only homework was a foot of parchment on why NOT to use dandelion stems in a potion with poppy seeds from Professor Slughorn, which wasn't due until Wednesday. Naturally, Kara and Lily got stuck in straight away.  
>Rolling up their parchment afterwards, Kara and Lily relaxed back in their comfy chairs. Suddenly, the boys tumbled through the portrait hole, laughing hysterically about something. Even Remus seemed a little amused. Strangely, the little boy, Peter, was tagging along behind the three. He was smiling cautiously, and let out a nervous laugh every now and again, though the others seemed to be ignoring him.<br>"So, you forgive us, Evans? Or can I call you Lily?" James noticed the two girls sitting comfortably in the corner and walked over to them. Lily glared daggers at him.  
>"No." She said simply.<br>"Wait, 'no' to which?" James asked, sounding almost, but not quite, hurt.  
>"Both." Lily grabbed her bag and parchment, then stormed up to their dormitory.<br>"Evans, wait!" He called after her. He tried to follow her, but a few seconds later, he came sliding back down on his back, groaning in pain.  
>"Guess I can't go up either then..." Kara grumbled as she saw girls slipping down the stairs, which had become a slide. Well, it was about time she went to the library, anyway.<br>Kara wandered through the corridors, making her way towards the library. Or... no, it wasn't this way. No, turn left here. No, right. No. Left. She was sure.  
>No she wasn't.<br>"Oh great, I'm lost." She groaned, glancing around her. Three possible routes; the one she'd just come down, the one to her left and the one to her right. A bare stretch of wall lay in front of her. A lone suit of armor stood in a small alcove to the right.  
>"I need to find the library!" Kara murmured as she began to walk down the left passage, changed her mind, then started to go right. She turned around again and began to go back down to the left. Then, just as she was about to go right again, she noticed a door.<br>It couldn't have been there before, could it?  
>She cautiously moved towards it, glancing left and right for any people, then tried the handle. It opened easily, barely making a sound. The room inside was dark, and the only light source was a lightbulb above a rickety wooden table. Kara shut the door gently behind her, then started taking small steps toward it. On the table lay an old piece of parchment, completely blank. Though, what was more intriguing was the even smaller piece of parchment with a note scrawled on it.<p>

_This is the only map of Hogwarts ever made. Please make use of it.  
>If you wish to use the map, ask it nicely. The map will do the rest.<em>

Puzzled, Kara picked up the old piece of parchment. It wasn't a map! But then again, the note had said to use it, all she had to do was ask...  
>"C-can I please see the map?" Kara asked, her voice shaking. After a few seconds, nothing happened, and Kara began to think maybe it was all just a joke.<br>Suddenly, black lines began twirling and spiraling this way and that on the parchment. Writing appeared, along with little human-like figures. The lines and words suddenly seemed to make sense.  
>It <em>was<em> a map! With little moving people! And their names! A little figure of Lily was lying in bed. Mini James was planning a prank with mini Sirius, Remus and Peter. A small Professor Slughorn was in his office drinking tea. Mr Filch was stalking the corridors on the third floor, while Mrs Norris hunted mice down in the dungeons.  
>And there. Finally. The library.<br>"Thanks." Kara whispered to the map, then went to put it back on the table.  
>...Then again, it <em>did<em> show some shortcuts she had never noticed. She stood still for a moment, pondering her choices. She'd never be late again...  
>Never get lost again...<br>It seemed to have wiped itself clean when she said 'thanks'.  
>Quietly, Kara slipped out of the room, tucking the parchment into her pocket.<p> 


End file.
